The 39 Clues: Race for Time
by Matt1251
Summary: Ten Mario characters are thrust into a world where not everything is what it seems. There are no alliances. Friendships are tested as they fight for the biggest, most critical prize in gaming history...
1. Chapter One

The 39 Clues: Race for Time

Chapter 1

Peach's Castle, Midnight

A knock was heard on the castle door at midnight. Immediately, a Toad came to answer it, but no one was there. It was just an envelope- no, two. Must be the Mailtoad, the Toad thought. He looked at the addresses intently for a moment, then took the stairs to the third floor. He knew exactly who it was for.

Mario lay restlessly on his bed. He just knew something was up, but what? Suddenly, a knock at the door was heard. Now who could that be at this hour? He opened the door and almost stepped back.

"Mamma mia! What are you doing up?" he asked to the Toad.

"I got this in the mail just now," he replied, "and it's for you and Luigi. I think it might be worth taking a look at."

"We get hundreds of letters." Mario shot back. He took the letter and turned it over. "What makes you think this-" Then he saw on the back a stamp labeled, "Top Secret" and "Classified". The Toad looked at him worriedly.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"No, no, it's nothing." Mario said. "Alright then, I'd better get some rest. Good night."

"Good night." the Toad replied, and closed the door. He didn't take the stairs down again, though. Instead, he went further down the hall to a section labeled, "Servant's Quarters". He opened the door and there lay more doors. He went past door after door until he came to a silver plated door, with a silver embossment on the side. "Assistant's Quarters", it read. Not wanting to disturb Toad, the assistant, he slipped the second envelope under the door and went back to his station.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter 2

Assistant's Room, 6:50 A.M.

The bedside alarm's ridiculously loud beeping filled the room for about five seconds. Then a tiny hand reached across to shut it off. A small figure sat up in his bed, ruffling the silver sheets. Humming, Toad went on his way to do the usual things he did in the morning. Just when he was walking towards the door for breakfast, he stopped. There, on the floor in front of him, was an envelope.

"Well, that's strange." he murmured. "How did this get here?" He turned it over. "No return address, it's stamped 'Top Secret', and it's addressed to me and- Oh, how cute." He rolled his eyes. "Well, let's see what it says. You can't judge a book by its cover, right?" He ripped the envelope open and perused it. Then he almost dropped it. "Great glittering Goombas! I'd better get the princess, and fast!" He hurried out the door, not bothering to lock it.

Princess Peach sat at the window, wondering. I never get letters of this sort, she thought. What am I supposed to do now? The doorbell rang. She walked over as it rang again. And again. Finally the princess opened the golden door.

"Oh, if it isn't my loyal assistant! What's the insistence?"

"Princess, I have this strange letter that someone slipped under my door." Toad replied.

"Oh, I'm glad you brought that up, because I got the same thing!" Peach exclaimed. "It... What's the phrase… gives you..."

"A sense of foreboding, princess?" Toad finished for her.

"Yes, yes! I was wondering if any other people in the castle got the same letter. Should we hold a royal meeting?"Peach questioned.

"I think so." Toad answered. "If we got it, then probably someone else has it, too."


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter 3

Star Church, 11:00 A.M.

I'm only here because the letter told me to, Toad repeated in his mind. He was with his "friend" Toadette. Again, the letter told me to do this, Toad thought. He blushed. They walked in to the spectacle of people.

"Wow. I thought this was an abandoned church." There wereforty, if not fifty people in the small church. And at the front was- "Toadsworth?" They looked over to see the chap next to the podium. He walked up and put everyone in order. All was silent. The two Toads took the two available seats. Finally Toad realized the people in the room. Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Wario and Waluigi, even Peach and Daisy... everyone was there. Toadsworth cleared his throat. He talked about the history of the Mushroom Kingdom. While he was talking, Toadette looked over to see who she was sitting next to. Then she almost fell. Staring into her eyes was Bowser. She whispered to Toad of the predicament. Then Toad looked to his right, and saw Bowser Jr. He jumped back in his seat.

"I'm only saying this once." he whispered fiercely. "Do you have anything at all to do with this?"

"Actually, no." Bowser Jr. whispered. "I got the same letter. Look!" He picked up a letter from his pocket.

"Give me that!" Toad took the letter and examined it, front and back. After a full minute, he handed it back. "Same letter." he concluded. "But if you're not behind this, then who is?" Bowser Jr. contemplated this.

"To tell you the truth, I have no idea." Meanwhile, Toadsworth was still talking.

"And you all remember our past ruler's decision…" All eyes turned to him. "After he stepped down, he hid his clues for ultimate power all over the world. If you find them, you become what he had become- the most powerful person in the world's history." Everyone started talking to themselves, about this 'clue hunt', but also, not wanting to do it. "However," Toadsworth mentioned, "there is an alternative. Everyone reach under your seats." They did. Toad looked at the paper carefully. He turned to Toadette.

"A piece of paper?" As if on cue, Toadsworth chimed in.

"That piece of paper is a bank voucher, with a value of one million coins. You can take it and leave; the money will activate, and you will never have to think about this discussion again. Or you can take the first clue I have for you." He waved a cream colored envelope in the air. Despite this, four-fifths of the people in the church took the paper and strolled out, each a million coins richer. "So that is the decision." Toadsworth said, finally ending his discussion. "A million coins or the first Clue. You have five minutes to decide."


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter 4  
Waluigi dragged Wario off to the back, to prevent him from making a commotion about the money he'll make.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Wario asked.

"It's not all about the money, man." Waluigi whispered back. "This is about more, about the ultimate power. We can rule everything if we win. And then we can have all the money we want." He said this slowly. Wario looked at him.

"Okay," he said, "let's do this."

There were ten people in the room, but all was silent. The five minutes were up.

"All right, then, "Toadsworth declared, "it is time to make your decisions." He held up a cigarette lighter. "Anyone who wants to join the clue hunt, they will burn their voucher here, thus voiding it and being rid of the million coins it contains. Now, teams, let's start from the front. First, Masters Mario and Luigi." Mario strolled up to the front. Without a word, he burned his paper, took the envelopes, and went back to his seat. The same was for Peach. Wario laughed evilly as he ran back, and Bowser stomped away, gleefully planning his domination. "Okay, then, the last team. Toad, please step up." Everyone held their breath. They all were thinking, _How can Toads be in this race? They're not as strong as us! They can't possibly be thinking this!_

"If I may." Toad spoke swiftly and clearly. Toadsworth stepped off the podium. Toad picked up his lighter. For a moment, he looked at the nine people watching, then at the lighter, then the paper, the cream colored envelope. He lit the lighter, and then put it down. Everyone stared, both in astonishment and despair. "Just to make sure that a Toad can still do something, I will go farther than any of you to destroy this paper." He knew that there were people that disregarded this, but he didn't care. He ripped the paper up, put the pieces into a stack, and lit the top. The flames scattered across the pieces, smoldering them all into dust. He stepped down and went back to his seat in the corner. "Well then." Toadsworth cleared his throat. "It appears that the two Toads are the final team. With all the teams established, it is now time to open your envelopes." _Rip, rip, rip._


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter 5

Inside the envelope was a cream colored paper, with a frilly border. It read:

To turn back the clock and start the race,

Seek out the question block on the tallest face.

"That's… That's IT?" Bowser roared. "That's ALL WE GET?! 18 words on this stupid paper?" He threw the paper on the ground. "Why don't we ever get an easy clue to something? Argh!" The Toads moved to the corner, the princesses moved to another, Mario and Luigi to still another, and Wario and Waluigi to the last. Bowser stayed in the middle, fuming. Toadsworth had left. They're on their own devices now. Bowser Jr. was still silently looking at the paper, trying to figure it out. Wario's shout of triumph filled the room for a second, but Waluigi shushed him.

"You never seem to get it through your thick head, you know that?" he cursed under his breath. "Now everyone knows!" The Toads actually didn't mind the lack of concentration. Soon after, Toad put the paper in his pocket and they drove away on their bikes.

"Hey!" Bowser shouted after them. "I still need to destroy-" By then they were out of earshot. He continued to pace the room.

Main Circle, 12:15 P.M.

"Okay. We need to figure out a way up there." The Toads were presently at the main circle, with a clock overlooking them.

"Up where?" Toadette asked. Her words were filtered through a mouthful of mushroom. Toad playfully slapped her on the back.

"Up _there_, silly." He pointed to the clock.

"Since when is a question block up there?" Toadette shot back, mimicking Toad's pointing.

"Since that question block was 'up there'." Toad said, pointing to it. "You may not see it at first." Toadette's face fell, obviously because she didn't see it.

"Wow. What a dunce I am!" she said, followed by laughter from them both. When they caught themselves, they looked at each other. Toad winked. "You already brought the climbing gear, didn't you?" asked Toadette.

"Who wouldn't come prepared for this?" Toad said, and held up his backpack. "Now, let's eat. It's going to be a long climb."

"'Seek out the'… Argh! It's so confusing!" Bowser Jr. was still trying to figure out the conundrum that was the first clue. He turned to his dad. "Got anything yet?" Bowser growled in despair.

"Not yet. I think I'm close, though. Keep trying." Fifteen long minutes passed. Then Bowser stood up. "I have it!" Immediately his son stood up beside him. "Look up all the question blocks out here." Bowser Jr. took out a contraption and did. "Where's the highest one?" Bowser pressed.

"Um." Bowser Jr. took a glance at the contraption, that they called the 'Question Finder 9000'. "The clock tower, at the main circle." Bowser was already in his kart, starting the engine.

"Then that's where we're going. Hop in."


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter 6

Toad Town, 12:30 P.M.

"Where can we find one of those vast pizzas around here?" Wario glared at Waluigi upon him saying this.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, baffled.

"You said Toad Town is the city of vast pizzas. Go look it up yourself." Waluigi retorted, holding up his flyer for a pizza restaurant.

"Those are vast _piazzas_, not _pizzas_, you idiot! It means public squares!" Wario shouted. Waluigi sat down at a bench.

"How was I supposed to know that?" he asked, putting on the most innocent face possible. Wario sighed.

"I honestly thought the clue hunt took the dweeb out of you." he said, wincing. "No such luck."

Once they got inside the restaurant, they ordered immediately. Wario knew exactly what he had in mind.

"One large pepperoni pizza." he said. "Quadruple garlic, please." When the food arrived, Wario looked at his watch.

"One…Two…Three…Go!" They dived in to the plate of bread and cheese covering most of the table. Despite the size of the pizza, the two mischiefs gobbled it down in ten minutes.

"Geez. When you said Toad Town was the city of vast pizzas- if it even was- you weren't kidding! That's our slowest time ever!" Wario exclaimed, glancing at his watch.

"All the more reason why we should come back here!" Waluigi replied, and they heartily asked for seconds.

Bowser pulled up at the edge of the clock tower. His son laughed mischievously. "Where are those little rascals? I'm going hunting today!" Seconds seemed like minutes as he searched for them. "A-HA! C'mon, son, let's get them!" He started climbing up the tower, which didn't seem to creak at all, despite Bowser's weight. "Pretty sturdy." He mumbled under his breath. "Every other thing I've climbed on that was long and skinny either cracked or broke. I like it!" The Toads, far above, were at the top, searching for the clue. They have prodded every side of it that they could in the time allotted. Nothing worked. "Try the top." Toad suggested. Toadette tried to slide the top, but it remained firmly intact. Frustrated, Toad climbed to the top of the box. He jumped. "Worthless bunch of machine-" Suddenly, the top caved out from under him and he was falling down a steel chute. Toad frantically tried to stop his fall by pushing his feet in the sides, but they slipped off. The slide was lubricated. Toadette jumped in after him. Toad saw light at the end, but what he didn't see was a landing pad. He closed his eyes, preparing for impact. There was none. The slide leveled off at the last second, depositing the assistant in a foam pad. He started to climb out, but just then Toadette flew out, tackling him in the foam once more. They came up and laughed at the incident. Then Toadette realized their adversaries.

"What about Bowser?"

"Don't worry. I put mines all around the top." Toad replied reassuringly. "And they explode on one side, so they don't damage the tower."

He looked around at the room before them. There were five glass chambers with an electronic lock. Inside each were a black bottle and a piece of crème paper. The glass was clearly labeled with each of the emblems of the teams. Toadette stepped up.

"May I?" He nodded. Toadette went up to the fingerprint scanner and placed her finger on it. The lock opened up. Toad picked the paper first and opened it. The paper was a message. It read:

Congratulations on finding the first clue! The rest will not be so simple.

Toadette grimaced. "If that was the simple one, I'd hate to see the difficult ones." The letter continued:

The bottle contains iron solute, crucial at the end of this game. You will receive these papers when you find each of the clues. However, these will contain less and less information the further you get. Here is the first 'clue to the clue', if you will:

The word at the end of Glados' laboratory, in French, minus the music.

Good luck, and may you end this dangerous race.

~Toadsworth

"The cake is a lie!"

The words flashed between the friends like radar.

"So 'cake' in French, minus the music?" Toadette mused. "I don't get it." They felt a small tremor, followed by screaming and then a crash. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Let's get out of here." Toad replied. "We'll think about this in the morning."


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter 7

The watercraft swept through the waves like a machine- not that it wasn't one. Atop it was Mario, having a fun ride, while he entrusted Luigi with the steering. The cowardly brother swerved in and out of the gondolas, all of which blew their whistles as they sliced by. Some were big, some small, but all of them were doing a very different mission than the two brothers. The watercraft stopped, and Luigi turned to his brother.

"So where to now?"

"Well…" Mario mused this. They had already found the first clue, not much slower than the Toads. However, while the fungi had stopped for the day, they hadn't, which gave them back the lead.

"Whatever." Luigi held the steering wheel again. "We'll find it eventually." He started the engine again, and soon they were at top speed again, which, of course, started the boat whistles again. Mario looked around. A steel carrier was pulling into their lane much too fast.

"LUIGI!" he shouted. "HIT THE BRAKES!" His brother obeyed instantly, pulling into reverse and slamming the brakes with all his might. He was too late. The craft rammed the steel hull, exploded, and came splintering apart like a wood model. Onlookers rushed to help, shocked at what just unfolded in the darkness.

Everything faded to black.

Smoldering wreckage littered the streets as Bowser slowly lifted his son up from the rubble of a vendor cart.

"Wha- what happened?" his son said, woozy from the crash.

"What happened? _What happened?_" Bowser shouted, furious as always when he lost. "I'll tell you what happened! Those blasted Toads stole the clue from under our feet!"

"But Mario has it, too." Bowser Jr. replied. "I saw him. So how can there be two clues?"

"Wait! If there was one for them, do you think there's one for us, too?"

"Certainly not!" Bowser Jr. shot back.

"Well, I'm going to go and find out. You stay here." Bowser said, and started up the tower again.

* * *

Yes, it's very short. Chapter 8 will make it up, though!


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter 8

Day Two

Flower Flier Hotel, 8:00 A.M.

The noise of the alarm clock was even louder than Toad remembered it to be. _Beep, beep, beep, be-_ He sat up, then was perplexed as to why Toadette wasn't in the other bed. In her place was a note. It read, in her cursive writing:

Went to get breakfast. Meet me downstairs.

~Toadette

Toad smiled, as he saw that the writing was all in pink pen. He got dressed in his blue vest and dashed out the door. Unexpectedly, a gun shot was heard. Then a scream. He stopped in his tracks as he realized who that scream belonged to. It was unmistakable. He broke into a run, sprinted down the stairs four at a time, and burst through the door. No longer was the hotel a bustling mass of guests enjoying their breakfast, but rather a desolate wasteland, as small screams of terror echoed off the walls. As Toad saw it, the damage was already done. A small, black figure stood in the middle of the lobby. It turned its head toward him, and then ran out. Toad ran after it, tackling it to the ground. He removed its ski mask, and then stared. He had read the expression 'his eyes popped out of his head' dozens of times, but he had never experienced it this closely before.

"Princess Peach?" Peach stood up, looking down at her assistant that knew her better than she knew herself. _Oh no! _she thought. _I'm in for it now._

She stammered as she tried to sort it out.

"Toad, I- I can explain-" He cut her off.

"You don't have to." He motioned to the wreckage surrounding them. "That speaks for itself." Peach walked around, hanging her head in despair. "Quite frankly," Toad lamented, "I don't know what to say. You know what you've done." His usually calm demeanor was to the brink of collapse, as he struggled not to slam the princess to the ground, not to get in trouble himself. "Come over here." He motioned to a door to a solitary room, away from all other rooms.

"And what if I don't?" Peach retorted. Toad walked over to the hotel desk, where the manager was cowering under the chair. He picked up the phone.

"I don't need to say anything, do I?" Peach immediately walked to the room Toad pointed to. He followed her and closed the door. They sat down at a table, facing each other.

"Do you realize what you did?" Toad's voice was escalating by the second. "You endangered the lives of hundreds of people. You endangered the life of Toadette, you endangered my life! Who do you think you are?" Peach's eyes widened, but she remained silent. "You've taken every ounce of morality you had and threw it away. The princess I knew wouldn't have even thought about doing this!" Peach stood up, her gown flowing behind her.

"How dare you question my leadership!"

"How dare I- How dare you!" Toad's voice was anguished. He pounded the table. "You don't respect your servants, you don't respect your council, and you don't respect me! You push us around like we're nothing!" Peach was stunned, and slowly backed away like a leaf flowing in the wind. "But I have put my faith in you, _I _have trusted you to make things right! And _still_ you haven't done that!"

"Toad, I- You've never been like this before…" The words trailed off in the air.

"I know I haven't. But that doesn't matter. You have taken my trust I had in you and shattered it into a million pieces."

"But I thought we were friends!" Peach protested.

"Friends?" Toad repeated. "I don't even know what that word means anymore. The only friend I have is the Toad that never betrays me, never gives up on me, even when the cost is too great to handle!" He was now shaking from desolation, desperately trying to stem the flow of tears from his eyes. He stood up. "And do you know why I tell you this; do you know why I question your leadership?" Peach moved further away.

"Because- I'm not-"

"That's right." Toad opened the door. "It's because you're not ready for it." He closed the door, crying as he moved on, leaving the princess alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Very emotional, isn't it? More will be coming, stay tuned!


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter 9

Princess Daisy sat in a dark alley, her phone over her ear.

"Yeah, so? Did you catch him? You didn't? Why? Well, you could have done it right there! You said he was in the room with you!" She sighed. "Okay then, time for Plan B. No? It's 'too dangerous'?" She was mocking the person now. "Well, some princess you are, disobeying me! I thought we agreed! Huh? The deal's off?" An irate voice spoke on the other end. "Alright, _fine!_ I'll just do it myself, if that's how you want to play it, protecting your 'little servant'!" She hung up, and then threw her phone at the wall. It clattered shut and dropped to the floor.

Peach sat in the dreary room that Toad had left her in for what seemed like hours. She had just had a conflicting phone call.

"Well." She mumbled to herself. "That's it. She betrayed me, too. I'm all alone now." The loneliness set in. "I guess Toad's right. Friends don't exist in this kind of situation." She stood up, looking out the window, to the workers redecorating, rebuilding the mess that she had caused. "I just…" The words trailed off, and she sighed once more. _I hope… I hope he's okay…_

Toadette ran through the corridors, trying to make out a particular room. She found Room 230, their room, and knocked on the door. Each tap was painful to hear. No answer. She tried again, louder now. Still no reply. Finally she tried the doorbell. A mumbled voice told her to leave. She did so, wondering how her calm, collected friend could possibly be this broken. As she was walking away, Toad finally opened the door, surprised the visitor wasn't who he expected. Toadette turned toward him, and he let her in. She sat down on the bed, with Toad opposite her. He sighed, and lay down, overwhelmed by the situation. Toadette followed suit and looked at him.

"Crazy things happen sometimes, don't they?"

"You have no idea, Toadette." Toad smiled at her. "No idea at all." They reflected together.


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter 10

Her trembling fingers missed in their precision as Peach struggled to dial the number that she was refusing to for hours. The rings started. She counted them. _One…two…three… _

"Oh, if it isn't the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom!" Daisy said, in a snobby voice.

"The same can be said for you." Peach shot back. "And we're not teammates anymore."

"Oh, really?" Daisy questioned. "Who said you can resign? I'm not about to let go of a person who can help me in my plans!"

"And your 'plans' are to do what? Force me into this hotel again? Try to kidnap him _again?_ Listen, lady, I'm not going to even think about putting him through all this again, no matter _how _loyal I am to you! If you saw what he did to stand up to me, you would be thinking the exact same thing!"

"Says who?" Daisy jeered. "Oh, I know! Says the person who almost broke into tears trying to capture a _midget_ half her size!"

"How _DARE _you call my assistant a midget! If anyone's a midget, it's you! I'm resigning from your servitude!"

"Now, now." Daisy tried to explain. "Don't get ahead of yourself-"

"Do you accept my resignation or not?!" Peach was shouting into the receiver so loudly that Daisy had to hold it away from her ears.

"I DO!" Daisy was breathing heavily. "I do." The click sounded as she hung up. Peach dashed out of the room and up the stairs. She had only one destination in mind.

"Oh, what the- I can drive better than that!" This was Wario's exclamation as he fell back to 11th once again as he played a game of Mario Kart. "You're in last, man." He said to Waluigi. "Better catch up." Waluigi scoffed.

"The great Waluigi can always catch up!" he bragged as he acquired a golden mushroom. As he boosted, he lost control and fell into the water. "Oh, fiddlesticks!"

"Okay then, the score is Delfino Square, one, Waluigi, zero."

"Will you be quiet? I'm trying to get back on the road, here!" They entered the last lap, but they saw that Toad was oddly behind them both, yet it showed Waluigi in last. Wario pointed to the mini-map.

"Hey, what place is he in- thirteenth?" They burst out laughing as they crossed the finish, even though they got 10th and 11th. When it showed the results, though, it placed Toad in first.

"What the heck?" Waluigi exclaimed. "How is he in first? He was behind us!"

"Nope. He was so far ahead, that it just looked like it. And-" he glanced at the screen-" we played on Wifi, too."

"So he must be having a good time, huh?"

"Yeah. That's just like him." Wario said, and turned off the Wii in indignation.

A knock at the door propelled the Toads to their feet.

"Get the door." Toad said.

"No, you get the door." Toadette replied.

"No, you open it."

"You open it."

"Oh, fine." Toad said, looking to break the chain. "We'll both open it." They did so, and weren't surprised to see Peach standing outside, her dress stained with tears. Toadette motioned to let her in, and the three sat down.

"Well." Toadette turned toward Peach. "I'm sorry to say it, but you're a disgrace. Here-" she motioned toward Toad, "we have your own assistant, in tears and shaking, all because of what you did, trying to hurt him, me, and helpless citizens! You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I know all about that-" Peach tried to explain, but Toad cut her off.

"_No_, she _doesn't!_ Don't listen to her! If she did know, she would have stopped this totalitarianism a long time ago!"

"Who says my ruling is a kind of anarchy?" Peach replied, indifferent. She wanted to give in, to forgive him, but something inside wouldn't let her.

"Me! I say that! Your servants say that! You don't give us any freedom!"

"Yes, I do!"

"_No_, you don't!" Toad was trying to stay calm, but he just couldn't. "I don't know what in the name of a Mushroom to make of you!" He sat down. "It's like you've turned into a different princess. If you'd just look at the mess downstairs from my perspective, you'd know. You shot someone, princess. I don't even think about shooting anyone or anything, no matter if they're good or bad to me. I'm that nice. If the ruler is worse than the assistant, then..." He stood up. "Then we've got a problem."

"Should I quit the game? Go back to the castle?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying that if you turn back to the familiar princess that I used to know, then you can stay. Otherwise, I don't want you as a competitor." Toad walked out the door, not saying another word. The two girls looked at each other, expressionless.


End file.
